Did these circumstances get better or worse?

The purpose of the college football transfer site is frequently twofold: to help players and schools both by improving rosters and circumstances. However, the best-laid ideas aren’t always realized.

While there is still activity in the 2024 cycle, most of it has been completed. As the dust from this winter settles, the image of spring practices is starting to become more apparent.

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We looked at a few noteworthy cases and discussed whether we thought things improved or worse.

Oregon QB Room

In 2023, the quarterback room at Oregon, led by Bo Nix, reached unprecedented heights. Nix completed over 4,500 yards of passing with 45 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Under offensive coordinator Will Stein, he made an incredibly remarkable 77.4% of his passes. However, Nix and his backup, Ty Thompson, have left the team; Thompson transferred to Tulane, and Nix entered the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Ducks added Dante Moore from UCLA, a former five-star in the 2023 class, and signed Oklahoma sixth-year signal-caller Dillon Gabriel as a starter. Moore finished his first year with nine interceptions and 11 touchdowns despite having a mixed performance.

Gabriel is perhaps the college football team’s most experienced signal-caller, and his composure and ability toreview the coverage. Over his career, he has passed for over 13,000 yards and 125 touchdowns.

With his arsenal of weapons, which includes transfer wide receiver Evan Stewart from Texas A&M, it’s reasonable to predict that he will light up Oregon. We believe that the Ducks improved due of their current and future-oriented setup, if you take a comprehensive approach to the quarterback room.

With tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and wide receivers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan Whittington among their top four pass catchers in 2023, the Longhorns boasted an impressive talent group in their 2023 campaign. All four players are on their way to the NFL, and Texas decided to reload mostly via the gateway.

Texas acquired Oregon State wide receiver/return guy Silas Bolden and Alabama receiver Isaiah Bond. Matthew Golden, a playmaker from Houston, was also added by the Longhorns. According to the transfer portal rankings, all three of these players are exceptional players. Amari Niblack, an Alabama tight end, is another player with exceptional vertical passing ability.

Both groups contain exciting performers, so it’s a very tight choice, but we like the 2023 cast more since it has potentialWorthy and Mitchell are first-round picks. In college football, Worthy was undoubtedly one of the most dynamic wide receivers, while Mitchell had incredible talent when it came to 50/50 passes. Nevertheless, we believe that this revised Texas skill group for 2024 will remain among the finest in the nation.

Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, two probable first-round selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, were part of Colorado’s transfer class from the previous season, which earned them the first overall ranking in the 2023 cycle. In the end, Sanders’s poor offensive line and running game allowed him to pass for 27 touchdowns and three interceptions. Hunter was among the top college football players and a formidable two-way threat.

Promising receivers Jimmy Horn Jr., Xavier Weaver, and defensive back Shilo Sanders were also in the class. That’s a significant amount of output and star power from the entire squad.

Colorado’s only deficiency in the 2023 portal class was the absence of effective offensive and defensive trench players. That was obviously a priority for the Buffs in 2024, and they added defensive linemen Quency Wiggins (LSU), BJ Green (Arizona State), and Samuel Okunlola (Pittsburgh) to address that. Guard Justin Mayers (UTEP), plug-and-play center Yakiri Walker (UConn), and four-star prospect Tyler Johnson (Houston) make up the offensive line.

It’s fair to say that Colorado addressed some of the gaps this cycle, but the 2023 class has to get the upper hand. A gang with the elite skills of Shedeur Sanders and Hunter is difficult to defeat.

The quarterback position at Notre Dame is typically one of great prominence, and throughout the last two offseasons, the Irish have added transfer quarterbacks to their roster. Sam Hartman’s extensive experience and production—he completed 110 touchdown passes and 36 starts at Wake Forest—made him one of the best portal quarterbacks in 2023.

Riley Leonard from Duke was brought in by head coach Marcus Freeman over the offseason. Leonard is a good athlete, so it’s a perfect match, but the key question is whether he can get better at passing. In the passing game, Leonard has to improve his touch, accuracy, and processing speed.

Working with Mike Denbrock, who returns from LSU and assisted in leading Jayden Daniels to a 2023 Heisman Trophy, he will have a fantastic offensive coordinator. Leonard’s passing ability will need to improve significantly for Notre Dame to defeat elite teams in 2024, which is why we think Hartman’s departure made the Irish’s quarterbacking situation somewhat worse.

It’s a difficult decision, and part of the math is determining whether Leonard will have access to enough tools to prevail.

This gateway window had an interesting scenario involving Will Rogers, a former quarterback for Mississippi State. With great hopes going into 2023, the school’s all-time top passer struggled to acclimate to a new offensive scheme and coped with a shoulder injury. In eight games, Rogers concluded the season with 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Rogers moved to Washington to play under head coach Kalen DeBoer, who had just guided his team to the College Football Playoffs and enjoyed success with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. After head coach Zach Arnett was fired, Rogers was cut. Rogers briefly returned via the portal after DeBoer departed for Alabama, but he finally made the decision to stay in Seattle and play under new head coach Jedd Fisch.

In the meanwhile, Mississippi State hired Jeff Lebby, the offensive coordinator from Oklahoma, in Starkville.He has been a successful offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, Oklahoma, UCF, and runs an explosive throwing attack. Lebby has worked as a coach for three exceptional offensive minds: Art Briles, Lane Kiffin, and Josh Heupel.

Jedd Fisch also brings a great reputation to Washington as a quarterback development, having served as an understudy for coaches like Bill Belichick, Mike Shanahan, Jim Harbaugh, and Sean McVay. But the Huskies have suffered a great deal of attrition since they lost their starting offensive line and three of their best receivers from the 2023 team.

It’s evident that Washington is going through a significant overhaul in the same year that the Huskies join the Big Ten. Rogers couldn’t have known DeBoer would leave Washington, and he doesn’t have the luxury of hindsight, but his circumstances would have been better had he stayed and completed his last season at Starkville under Lebby.

At Oklahoma State’s Doak Walker Award presentation, Ollie Gordon discusses transfer possibilities
Ollie Gordon, a running back for Oklahoma State, had such a successful sophomore campaign that other teams began requesting his services.

Shortly after Oklahoma State wrestling’s 19th consecutive victory over Oklahoma on Sunday, a well-known figure spoke at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Reversing course In front of nine thousand spectators, Ollie Gordon, a mainstay at several Cowboy events since the football season concluded in December, took the mike.